Friday, August 04, 2017

LOVE-MARRIAGE-FAMILY

Such is the truly precious triangle that makes a man and a
woman not merely one complementary reality but also one composite
potential of nothing less than
co-creating human lives. That “Love is the queen of all virtues” is
the ardently commonly felt, experienced, and lived reality in a sealed and
sanctified man-woman relationship. It
begins with a meeting or encounter between them. This is followed by personal mutual acquaintance. This is succeeded by courtship or profession
of love. This, in turn, develops into an engagement of exclusivity in amorous
relationship. And this is ultimately
crowned by marriage whereby the man and the woman give, commit and entrust one
to the other – here and now, thereafter and beyond until death does them part.

Marriage is thus defined, explained and affirmed: It is
nothing less than a covenant through which a man and a woman establish between
themselves, a partnership of their whole life which by its very nature is
ordained for the well-being of the
spouses and the pro-creation and upbringing of children. (Cf. Canon 1055 par. 1 CIC). Furthermore: The essential properties of
marriage are unity and indissolubility.
(Cf. Canon 1056 CIC)

In a Catholic marriage, the standard symbolic articles used
to signify the nature, key attributions and finalities of the Conjugal Covenant
are the following: attended to after the
exchange of matrimonial consent:

a. Rings:
The man and the woman give a ring to one another as a symbol of their
respective self-giving to one another.

b. Arrhae:
The man then gives the arrhae/tokens to the woman as a symbol of his
commitment to support her, and the woman accepts the commitment.

c. Veil:
The veil is thereafter placed on the couple as symbol that together they
will sleep in one bed, eat from one table, live under one roof.

d. Cord:
The cord is subsequently placed on the man and the woman as a symbol of
their carrying together the burdens of married life.

e. Candles:
The man and the woman finally light a candle each as a sign that their
married life has formally began.

It is Catholic marriage that makes the following special
series of actions – all in the context and spirit of love between a man and a
woman, and all thus becoming dear and endearing living relational realities:

Oscar Cruz

About The Blogger

Most Reverend Oscar V. Cruz, D.D. is the Archbishop-Emeritus of Lingayen-Dagupan. He is currently the Judicial Vicar of the National Tribunal of Appeals. He is a prolific writer, having published several dozen books mostly on judicial and moral matters. His most recent book is about the Social Doctrines of the Church. He also has a blog where he posts regularly. He is an avid coin collector and dabbles in woodworking art.